Imagination shines at Creative Con // VIDEO, PHOTO GALLERY

Children look over replica prop weapons at Creative Con at the Bay County Library in Panama City on Saturday.

Andrew P Johnson | The News Herald

By Scott Carroll | The News Herald

Published: Saturday, August 24, 2013 at 08:31 PM.

PANAMA CITY — Ryan Raven and Jon Legare looked like they’d just returned from battle on Tattooine, the desert planet with two suns from the “Star Wars” films.

Each was wearing helmets and custom-made body armor similar to “Star Wars” bounty hunter Boba Fett, and the 10-pound outfits were scuffed and scraped to resemble damage from lightsabers and laser blasts.

Also, Legare and Raven were quite sweaty.

“I’ve got some moisture,” Legare said. “It’s not easy walking around in this all day.”

But a little perspiration didn’t stop the two, nor the dozens of other costumed attendees of Creative Con 2013 at Bay County Public Library. About 20 local comic book vendors and artists from around the region participated in this year’s convention, which included collectible card games, panel discussions by writers and illustrators, and — of course — a costume contest.

Legare and Raven are part of Mandolorian Mercs Costume Club, a talented group of local “Star Wars” fans who create elaborate, movie-inspired costumes for events like Creative-Con. Their costumes took more than 100 hours each to make, and were built from plastic, modified toys and repurposed household items. Legare said as a child, he could never pick up a broom without making the “vrrrr” sound of a lightsaber, so the costumes were a logical next step.

Others at the convention were dressed as Captain America, Spider-Man, and Batman villain Poison Ivy.

PANAMA CITY — Ryan Raven and Jon Legare looked like they’d just returned from battle on Tattooine, the desert planet with two suns from the “Star Wars” films.

Each was wearing helmets and custom-made body armor similar to “Star Wars” bounty hunter Boba Fett, and the 10-pound outfits were scuffed and scraped to resemble damage from lightsabers and laser blasts.

Also, Legare and Raven were quite sweaty.

“I’ve got some moisture,” Legare said. “It’s not easy walking around in this all day.”

But a little perspiration didn’t stop the two, nor the dozens of other costumed attendees of Creative Con 2013 at Bay County Public Library. About 20 local comic book vendors and artists from around the region participated in this year’s convention, which included collectible card games, panel discussions by writers and illustrators, and — of course — a costume contest.

Legare and Raven are part of Mandolorian Mercs Costume Club, a talented group of local “Star Wars” fans who create elaborate, movie-inspired costumes for events like Creative-Con. Their costumes took more than 100 hours each to make, and were built from plastic, modified toys and repurposed household items. Legare said as a child, he could never pick up a broom without making the “vrrrr” sound of a lightsaber, so the costumes were a logical next step.

Others at the convention were dressed as Captain America, Spider-Man, and Batman villain Poison Ivy.

“You find something that really speaks to you and that’s what feels good,” Raven said of the costumes. “Growing up with ‘Star Wars,’ anytime I was having a bad day or rough time, I’d go watch ‘Star Wars,’ man. It was another universe that took you away. And then actually being able to come out like this and bring smiles to kids’ faces, it’s great.”

More than 750 people attended Creative Con 2013, convention volunteers estimated. The convention has grown in each of its four years, and officials are considering moving it to a larger venue in Panama City Beach next year. They’re also considering expanding the length of the one-day convention.

“It’s not just about entertainment,” said artist and convention organizer Jason Kretzer. “You can use it to educate people. A picture’s worth a thousand words, so if you put 20 pictures down, you just wrote a novel. ... We don’t target movie stars and stuff. I target people that can come teach the community something.”

Many attendees also discussed the biggest comic book news in months: Ben Affleck being cast as the new Batman. The actor will portray the Caped Crusader in the sequel to this summer’s Superman movie, “Man of Steel.” Reactions across the convention were lukewarm, at best.

“Mmm, I don’t know,” said Amanda Harris, who dressed as Batman villain Harley Quinn for the convention. “We’ll give him a chance.”

Kretzer said that after Affleck’s performance in “Daredevil,” the critically-panned 2003 movie based on Marvel Comics’ eponymous superhero, Affleck should have hung up his tights.

“In my opinion, no movie star should try to play more than one superhero. And Affleck already tried it with Daredevil,” Kretzer said. “That was his chance.”

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